Needle devices are used throughout the medical industry for the injection and withdrawal of a wide variety of fluids and solutions into and from the human body. Because of the numerous potential hazards associated with the handling and manipulation of bodily fluids, and particularly blood, there are a number of known safety features that are frequently incorporated into various types of needle devices to protect the practitioner from accidental exposure to the needle.
Prior retracting sheath safety needle devices have been developed to include a blunt tip suited for injection perpendicular to the injection site. While a blunt tip may be ideal for most intramuscular injections, the administration of other injection techniques, such as intradermal or subcutaneous, may require different injection angles. For example, shallow injection angles are difficult or impossible with existing safety needle devices.
Prior retracting sheath safety needle devices have been developed to include a single-use cover assembly that obscures a substantial majority or an entirety of an injection needle from view before, during, and after an injection procedure. However, many injection procedures require that the practitioner know precisely the depth to which the needle is inserted in the patient's tissue to be sure that medication is delivered to an appropriate location. Prior retracting sheath safety needle devices do not have depth gauges so that injection depth can be quickly and easily determined.
There is a need in the art to provide a safety needle device having a sheath tip configured to various different injection angles to facilitate the administration of injection techniques, such as intradermal and subcutaneous, which may require shallow injection angles.
There is a also need in the art to provide a safety needle device having a depth gauge feature that is capable of quickly and easily determining the injection depth, which is especially useful for certain types of injections, such as intramuscular and subcutaneous.